


The Road Less Traveled

by Theatrhythm



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-26 11:23:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7572307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theatrhythm/pseuds/Theatrhythm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sakura and Leo open up about their choices in life, and learn a little bit about each other and themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Road Less Traveled

**Author's Note:**

> Given how I am still entirely new to this community, I have no one to dissuade me from writing more of these two, no matter how half-baked the idea. When will my ideas be fully baked? It is a mystery.

Hinoka had always had Ryoma to train with and dote on her since they could hold spears without one of them toppling over. Sakura, on the other hand, remembers spending hours upon hours with Takumi, clinging to his hakama as he gently coaxed her off long enough to resume his archery training. He was but a few years beyond her, but she would watch starry-eyed while he adjusted his footing, straightened his stance, let each shot fly to their target with such swiftness and confidence to make the arrows sing through the air. _He is so gallant_ , she thought, _so elegant_. The Fujin Yumi in his hands is an extension of his limbs.

When she is old enough, she asks him to teach her archery too, but in her desire to live up to his example she is over-eager. By the end of her first combat practice, her hands are covered in blisters and her fingers are bleeding. Takumi assures her this is normal, she will improve, that the first few months are the most grueling as he applies a salve for her in the healers' quarters.

And he is right, she earns her callouses and the cuts disappear before long. But she still finds herself spending more and more time with the shrine maidens and priestesses after each training session, listening attentively to their patient explanations of their art and absorbing every ounce of their tutelage.

She informs her siblings of her decision within the year. Takumi apologizes to her, saying it is his own fault for neglecting her for her to have swayed, and she gently but firmly rebukes him. She has found another way, she says. She much prefers healing _his_ hurt, not the other way around.

* * *

 

"I apologize. I'm sure you have many others to attend to," says Prince Leo. He is sitting in a chair across from her in the healers' tents, grimacing as she washes away the last remnants of blood from his hand gently with a cloth over his freshly stitched wound.

"I-It's nothing, Leo. P-please don't worry about me."

"Your time is of value, Sakura. You are a remarkably talented healer, equal to Elise," he notes, a look of appreciation crossing his features. He just as soon winces as she runs water over the wound.

"T-that is high praise indeed... Lady Elise is v-very admirable," she remarks with a small smile. She rubs an ointment onto the cloth before resuming her ministrations. "A-and so are you. The least I can do is aid you when need me."

"I'm far more adept at facing swarms of enemies over swarms of _patients_ ," he quips dryly. He looks over his shoulder at the long queue of soldiers and recruits, the aides diligently tending maladies and injuries ranging from shallow cuts and bruises to deeper lacerations. "But it _is_ a worthy pursuit. Your skill is enviable."

Sakura would normally leave her response at stammered murmurs of gratitude and let that be the end of it, but something in his tone makes her falter. She pulls her hand back from his briefly and bites her lip. It would perhaps breach a boundary she has yet to earn the right to prod. But Leo notices her hesitance and looks at her questioningly, and she shifts in her seat before mustering up the courage to ask.

"I-if you don't mind answering... What made you choose the path of the mage?"

He blinks in surprise, and Sakura wonders if she has crossed a line delving into such a personal decision. "S-sorry- I don't mean to p-pry, but I-"

Leo waves off her mounting concern, merely having been caught off-guard, he reassures her. And he tells her frankly. About Xander, their training, watching his brother excel as he struggled to keep his head above water. About struggling putting his steel against his brother's, the suffocating pressure to live up to his family name with each sparring, the yearning to prove _himself_ worthy of his line, and the flood of relief when their paths finally diverged. It feels vaguely familiar to her, she realizes. She never felt threatened to prove herself the way Leo did, but the desire to be useful, she can understand. Her hands are folded on her lap while she listens intently, her gaze trained on him throughout his explanation.

"...I may be talented as I am now, but I am not proud of the way in which I chose. It was borne of feelings of inadequacy," he finishes with a small shrug. "I hope that, despite this, I may prove worthy to fight at my brother's side."

She isn't so certain about him needing to prove anything. She has seen Prince Leo spend countless nights poring over tomes and texts by candlelight into the late hours while their companions doze off. She has seen him working at sunrise with their brothers, devising strategies from when the sun barely peaks over the horizon until it hangs heavy over the camp. She has seen him flare life between his fingertips where many mages struggle to ignite a single spark. Whatever his motivations, his devotion is clear. "I-I don't think that's in spite of anything," she murmurs. "We all have our insecurities..."

"Yes, well, we are our own worst critics, are we not?"

"But you've still worked hard for your strength," she protests, wringing her hands together. "That's not nothing. Effort is important. I-it takes courage to forge your own path."

Leo smiles at this. "Perhaps. But did you not do the same? You wield a bow, but prefer the staff."

"Y-yes, I do. But it's different... I chose the path of healing because it felt..." She purses her lips. "Natural to me, like breathing. I-I tried to be like Takumi, but the path of strength just... Wasn't the way for me."

"Isn't it, though?" he challenges pointedly, cocking his head to the side. "There are many different kinds of strength, Sakura."

She frowns, her eyebrows furrowing. She didn't mean it as a blanket statement, surely he knows that.

He seems to predict her train of thought and clears his throat. "My apologies. I don't mean to sound presumptuous, and I _do_ understand what you mean - of course it takes fortitude to slay an enemy." He pauses. "But I also believe it takes equally great fortitude to watch a man die. It is... a terrible weight. You cannot save every person."

Of course she knows that, too, but Sakura certainly doesn't feel stronger each time someone slips through her fingers. She has grown accustomed to the smell of blood and antiseptic, the heat of fever clammy against her hands, but never the look of life leaving a person's eyes. She will never not flounder in that regard. As if needing to scratch that itch, she reaches for the gauze on the table next to her, unrolling it and wrapping it around his palm busily with deft fingers. Distantly, she wonders _why_ his voice is so understanding, but decides it is not her place to pursue.

He doesn't seem to take notice of her disquiet, still focused on his train of thought. "A warrior may lead their troops into battle, the way Xander or your brother might," he continues slowly. "But there are other forms of strength that inspire your own countrymen and beyond."

His gaze flickers to the scramble of soldiers both Nohrian and Hoshidan bustling in and out of the tents as the shrine maidens and healers tend to them, then back to her. "These men and women will fight for you," he says earnestly. "Not out of mere obligation towards our families or or their alliance, but out of faith. You inspire them, not through sheer force of will. You inspire their _passion_."

The word _passion_ leaves his lips just as they lock eyes, her fingers still absently brushing his. As if noticing them for the first time, he starts, his fingers twitching.

Sakura jumps a little, too. "Sorry, d-did I hurt you-"

"N-No- no, you didn't." He coughs, cheeks tinging pink. "I'm fine."

She cuts the gauze and smooths it out over his palm. He flexes his fingers to test his movement and nods, seemingly satisfied, though still looking a little flustered. "I-I think you give me a great deal more credit than I deserve," she offers with a timid smile. "B-but perhaps you're right, Leo, that we are our own worst critics... I will keep what you have said in mind. Thank you."

His gaze softens. "Of course."

 

* * *

 

Later, Sakura visits her retainers during their sparring session, carrying fresh towels and pitchers of water. In years prior, they might have protested their liege performing such simple menial labor on their behalf, but after years of stubborn aid they have learned to accept gratefully.

Hana towels off her hair, brushing away the sweaty locks of brown plastered to her forehead, and looks at Sakura with a curious expression. "You look like you've something on your mind, Lady Sakura."

"Mm..." Sakura looks up, thoughtful. "What's your impression of Prince Leo, Hana?"

Hana snorts. "Total snob. But then, what Nohrian in this army isn't?"

"In your mind, maybe," remarks Subaki, wiping his brow with his own towel. "They're not all bad, though."

"You're just saying that 'cause you're sweet on one of 'em."

"Not at all," Subaki responds, his voice light. He stretches his arms behind him, rolling his shoulders. "I find many of them rather charming in their own right. The Prince is a respectable enough warrior. Quite... _gallant_ , wouldn't you say?"

Hana makes a face at the word with an _ew no_ , prompting a laugh from the pegasus knight. He gives Sakura a knowing look, who smiles back.

**Author's Note:**

> If only Leo could realize how much of a cool kid he is to everyone else. :)
> 
> This is another one-off! I'm starting to get the sense that one-offs are the only things I have the capacity to write, considering my planning is piss-poor and I have no one with whom I can brainstorm my silly ideas. Therefore, you get the unfiltered product straight from my brain. Still getting a handle on these two, but hopefully I'm learning!


End file.
